Hatch plug for closing openings in ice containers of refrigerator cars



Nov. 9, 1948. E. R. BATTLEY ET AL 2,453,294

HATCH PLUG FOR CLOS G OPENINGS IN ICE 1 CONTAINERS OF RE GERATOR CARS Filed Jan. 26, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 9, 1948. E. R. BATTLEY ETAL 2,453,294

HATCH PLUG FOR CLOSING OPENINGS IN ICE 1 CONTAINERS OF REFRIGERATOR CARS Filed Jan'. 26, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR6 ldwmlifiaziey BY Gear 6 Z? M 6' Nov; 9, 1948.

Filed Jan. 26, 1 945 E. R. BATTLEY ET AL HATCH PLUG FOR CLOSING OPENINGS IN ICE CONTAINERS OF REFRIGERATOR CARS I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY George 5 7 605 Patented Nov. 9, 194-8 carts!) STATES sear-sat Q fiFFl QE E 2,453,294 aa'ron PLUG FOR onosiiiio,foiiiiivifios IN ice CONTAINERS F REFRIGER- ATOR CARS Edwin R. Battley andGco'rg'eErMcCo'y; Montreal, Quebec, Canada Application January 26, lifihSeiidilib; i ijio 4- Claims. 1

i'i his invention relates'to railroad refrigerator cars having'hatches in the roof thereof through which refrigerant containers, positioned i'rnm'edi at'ely below the roof, but spaced slightly therefrom for air circulation thcrebetween,areserviced, said containers having-openings in the top surface thereof registering with'thehatch openings in'the car roof, and is an improveinentover :the construction shown in Bonsall Patent No. 2,136,999 Of November 15, 1933.

The invention more'specifically relatesto such cars having. refriwcrant containers of the'solid type for holding brine or water ice as the refrigen- 'atin'g -me'dium,. and which containers, therefore,

must have means to prevent service movements of the car from causing the liquid in said containers to surge out through the filling opening intosaid space thereabove and thence into the car.

It is the principal object of our invention to :provide a conveniently operable means for clos ing the filling opening in the container.

It'is a further object of the invention to associate said closing means with the hatch plug of k the car so that when said plug closes the hatch it also closes the opening in the refrigerant container.

A still further object of the invention'is to so associate thecontainer with'the roof'and hatch so that when the plug is opened forventilaforming part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure l is a vertical sectional view of one of the 'hatchwayconstructions showing the relation of the refrigerant container thereto.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure -l"slioii i'rig the preferred form of closing-the filling opening in the refrigerant container.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a modified form of closing the filling opening in said container.

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view showing a further modified form of the invention.

5 Ten-tigers;

neurosis "av'elti'cl se'cticjnn view showings still further "modification (if the invention.

Figure 6 isa section on line 6-6 of Figure 5 I'n tne'd in'gs, represents the 'si'dewallfof a car, and-2- the 'ro'of ther'e'oi, both {of which it will be understoc' ;-are Of suitable insuiated onsn-uno11,theseams-aromas may he 'o'n'ilttdfisinc e they scrm nc' art-ereinpresent l, but spac'ed slig ytherefrorn, isareer'alit 'container' l', havmgan opening-amine esser urfacethereor which registers-with the hash opening'fi. The 'cohtainer li "'spa'cd fro' in oofil to rovide -manen-ciliaimga id i1" ccsim'g s15- ie 16, ahdalso'toprovide spasventilating an to theint'e rio'r "of the carvvhe'n the 1mm pmg isremovea br' raises rcr ventilating es. The container 4 isformed with anind'ly turned flange 6' aboii tthe"'periiirfte'r of the waning-5, and inF igures l and 2, transects-s tiirhed backwardly to'wardthe "sidesof'the iner, which flanges, in'aiiditio'n to streri'gtl'ren lg li'e top of tl ie'containerai'ou'ntlthehpem 'iri'g, provide treads to at least "ii'ta'i'd, if not i-e vent, th surg ng or the'liquid 9'5 Withi'nt he tank,

dueft'o service nioveinentsof tie car, f'r'cin escap- A sfis C nta tmjrrifi eiatqr cars of this type,

- a substantially hori z o nta11y disposed drip pan (or ceiling) I is installed below the refrigerant container 4 and spaced slightlytherefromto-forrn an air --coo1ing space l-l *therebet'ween. This drip pan-extends from approximately the longitudinal "4 center-ofthe'car lfi where it is provided with an upwardly eXtK-mdingbaflle "8 to a flue 9' associated 'withsaid'wall I: path for circ-ulatingair, when the car is under refrigeration, is'thus provided under the container to and downwardly through "s'aidfluesfas indicated by the arrows in Fignres l and=2p I hatch is shown at it, the "major pertion orwhicn'ma becfaccnstruction as 1S 0- d ma comprise an integral cover plate or lid II,

as shown in Figure 3, which overlaps the perimeter of the hatch frame and is provided with any acceptable type of weather-sealing material l2 therebetween to seal the opening against entrance of cinders or other foreign matter therethrough,

or the lid [9 may separate from the plug, as

shown in Figures 1, 2 and 4.

In Figures 2 and 3 the body of the plug is shown as extended in thickness or depth so that when in position to close the hatchway it will extend to and contact the perimeter of the filling opening 5 in the container.

In Figure 2 this contact is illustrated as made by the bottom of the plug body resting upon the edge of said opening, and sealing material [3 may be provided to seal the opening when the plug is resting thereupon. The flanges 6 also stiffen the perimeter of the opening 5 against deformation and thus assure a seal.

In Figure 3 the flanges 2! about the opening 5 extend inwardly substantially parallel with the plane of the sides of the plug body and the lowermost portion of the plug body 22 is shown as extending slightly within said filling opening 5, and the sealing means l4 may be provided between the side walls of the plug and flange 2| to seal said opening when the plug is installed there- In Figure 4 we have shown a modified form of the invention wherein a baffle construction is provided about the perimeter of the opening 5 and in the space It between the container 4 and the roof 2. This baffle construction comprises a series of overlapping vanes 25-26 so that air may readily circulate therethrough, but any surging 1 J of liquid within the tank is effectively retarded, if not prevented, from escaping into the space I6. Should any surging liquid escape over some of the vanes, we have provided small drain holes 2l28 through the upper wall of the tank so that J.

said liquid may drain back thereinto. Figure 4 shows the plug removed and the cover slightly raised for ventilation, and the arrows indicate the movement of the ventilating air.

Figures 5 and 6 show the refrigerant containers being formed of separable parts. To form the flanges shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 in the top of the containers may be diflicult and, therefore, there is shown, in Figures 5 and 6, the flanges as being of separate material and then welded to the tops of the containers. The top itself is made separate from the remainder of the container and the downwardly and outwardly inclined collar welded or otherwise secured to an upstanding flange 3! about the perimeter of the filling opening 32. The hatch frame 33 projects downwardly into the collar so that the lower margin of said hatch frame and collar 30 cooperate to retard splashing of liquid in the-container into the space it between the container and the roof.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. In a refrigerator car having a hatch opening i ing and the interior of the car for ventilating purposes, said container having a filling opening therein registeringwith said hatch opening, and a removable hatch plug having portions engageable with the walls of the hatch opening to close the hatch opening to retard heat infiltration and other portions engageable with the container to simultaneously close the filling opening to retard the escape of refrigerant from the container.

1 v, 2. In a refrigerator car having a hatch opening with tapering sides in the roof thereof, a refrigerant container spaced below said roof so as to provide a space between said roof and said container which communicates with the hatch opening and the interior of the car for Ventilating purposes, said container having a filling opening therein registering with said hatch opening, said container provided with a stiffening flange around the perimeter of the filling opening, and a removable hatch plug having portions engageable with the walls of thehatch opening to close the hatch opening to retard heat infiltration and other portions engageable with said flanges of the container to simultaneously close the filling opening to retard the escape of refrigerant from the container.

3. In a refrigerator car having a hatch opening in the roof thereof, said opening having parts at an angle to the plane of the roof, a refrigerant container spaced below said roof so as to provide a space between said roof and said container which communicates with the hatch opening and the inter or of the car for ventilating purposes, said container having a filling opening therein registering with said hatch opening, said container provided with a continuous surface around the perimeter of the filling opening substantially normal to the plane of the top of the container, and a removable hatch plug having portions engageable with said parts to close the hatch opening and other portions e'ngageable with said surface to simultaneously close the filling opening to retard the escape of refrigerant from the container.

4. In a refrigerator car having a hatch opening in the roof thereof, a refrigerant container spaced below said roof so as to provide a space between said roof and said container which communicates with the hatch opening and the interior of the car for ventilating purposes, said container having a filling opening therein registering with said hatch opening, and a removable hatch plug adapted to simultaneously close said hatch opening and said filling opening when in closed position,

EDWIN R. BATTLEY. GEORGE E. MCCOY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2.207.678 Gilpin July 9, 1940 2,252,226 Crede Aug. 12, 1941 2,260,503 Zeidler Oct. 28, 1941 2,307,988 Bonsall Jan. 12, 1943 

